Drier



W. V LEWIS.

DRIER- APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20.1920.

1 ,409,74:0. I Patented Mar, 14, 1922.

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INVENTOR when: F: 3

A TTORNEY W. V. LEWIS.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20' 1920.

1,409,740. Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

5 SHEETS-.SHEET 2- 3 INVENTORi w: W

I WITNESS:

ATTORNEY.

W. V. LEWIS.

DRlER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1920.

1,409,740. Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

5 SHEETS$HEET 4.

INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY.

WITNESS:

.W. V. LEWIS.

DRIER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20, 1920. 1,409,740. Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 5- I! INVENTOR. WITNESS: M 4 B Y r 1 1 i I I A TTORNE Y.

UNI-TED STATES-PATIENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM v. Lewis, on k'A'N'sAs crrY, MISSOURI.

DRIER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 14, 1922.

Application filed January '20, 1920. Serial No. 352,862.

which the following is a complete specification.

The present invention relatesto dryin machines, and aimsto provlde animp'rov'ec I drier construction adapted to produce a more effective treatment in the drying and sterilizing of various kinds of granular materials, such as cereals, flour, bran, also shredded materials, as well as chemical substances in certain forms, etc.

Accordingly I have devised an improved drier construction in which I arrange the heating chamber as an interior compartment and provide an exterior housingforming a drying chamber entirely surrounding the 'interior chamber, together with means for maintaining a continuous circulation of the material to be treated through the drying chamber in a direction about the heating chamber.

In carrying out this construction I provide an interior fixed heating chamber arranged substantially centrally within a drying chamber, in connection with which I providea mechanical operating 'means which serves to alternately deposit themate'rial being dried upon the upper surface of the heating'chamber and thereafter remove said"material from said upper surface of the chamber, thus in effect subjecting all of the material u'nde'r treatment to asubstantially even and uniform drying action without danger of burningbr parching the material.

It is also sought to provide improved construction of the above character in which provision is also made for preventing the formation of any cakes or lumps in the material during its course through the drying chamber.

Further features of improvement lie in'the form and arrangement of the connections for the supplybf heat, as wellas in the peculiar arrangement and construction of the drive mechanism for operating the drier.

With these general objects in view the invention will now be described by reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating one form of embodiment ofthe improvement after which the novel features therein will be set forth and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating a drier construction embodying the present improvements Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional end elevations of the opposite ends of the drier, the same being shown on a larger scale, and representing sections taken on the lines 33 and -l l, respectively, of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken onzth'e line 6-6 of Figure 1;

F igure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 2; and

.Figure 8 is an elevation showing one end portion of the rotary member which operates within the drying chamber.

Referring now to the said drawings in detail, these show the main heating chamber as tormed'by a central cylinder 9, the opposite ends of which are fitted within threaded recesses formed in a pair of cap or head castings 10. Each of these castings 10 is mounted upon the inner endof a tubular supporting member 11. and retained thereon by means of a lock nut 19, the outer ends of said tubular members 11 being held in fixed position in a suitable supporting frame-work 13, there being two of said frameworks 13, one op- 'posite each end of the drier as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. Fitted within one of the tubular members 11, is a steam inlet'pipe connection 14 which is adapted to inject a supply of steam within one end of the cylinder 9, as illustrated in Figure 7. The other tubular member 11 is fitted'with a steam outlet pipe 15, having a downwardly extending siphon portion 16 at its inner end within the cylinder 9, as shown in Figure 5. Each of the pipes 14 and 15 is equipped with a suitable regulating valve 17.

An exterior housing structure is provided for forming a drying chamber 18 entirely surroundingthe heating chamber formed by the cylinder 9, this housing structure 'comprising a rectangular portion 19 enclosing the upper half of the heating chamber, and a semi-cylindrical portion 20 opposite the lower haltof the said heating chamber. A second'semi-cylindrical shell 21 is mounted outside the shell 20, forming}; space 22 between these two housing sections and 21 whlch space is utilized for the arrangement of a set of auxiliary heating pipes 23, into which steam is admitted from a second steam supply pipe 24 at the inlet end of the drier as shown in Figure 3, these auxiliary plpes communicating with an outlet pipe 25 at the opposite end of the drier as shown in Figure 4. A similar set of auxiliary heating; pipes 23 is arranged Within the upper portion of I the drying chamber 18, these pipes also communica-ting with the inlet and outletsteam,

connections 24, 25, just described.

- The drier is supported by the frameworks 13 at its'opposite ends, in more or less in-.

clined position, according to the conditions and the character of the material belng 7 treated, a moderate degree of inclination being shown in Figure l. The elevated end of the drier, as (thus arranged, may be termed the receiving end, and -;is provided with a receiving hopper 26-for-the feeding of the material'into the drying chamber. The lower end of the apparatus is provided with a discharge outlet 27 communicating;-

with the bottom of the dryingchamber 18,

and extending through the cylindrical shell 21, as shownin Figure 6. The rectangular portion 19 of the housing structure is further provided with a vapor hood 28 communicating with the upper portion of the-drying chamber 18 and extending in upwardly converging form, asshown in Figures 1 and 2,

to suitable outlet 29, the communicating passage between said hood and drying chamber extending substantially the' full length of the drier.

The end wall of they exterior housing structure 18 made in sectlons, the. lower sections of whlch are formed as bearingstandards .30 (see Figures 5 and 7), which provide bearings for theopposite ends of a rotating member for maintaining the circulation of ,the material within the drying chamber, as will now be described.

'Thisrotatingmember comprises a pair of skeleton or spider castings 31 at its-opposite ends, each of these castings 31 having a hub sleeve 32 which i adapted to be'journaled responding bearing standard 30.

upon the corresponding tubular memberll and within the bearing portion of the-'cor- At--its outer end each hub sleeve 32'haskeyed there- .to a drive sprocket wheel 33 over which is trained a drive chaln '34 driven from" a sprocket wheel The'two sprocket wheels 35 are mounted upon a countershaft '36 extending longitudinally of the drier'andhaving itsopposite ends journaled in bearings in the upper ends of the frameworks 13, the middle portion of said shaft being supported in a bearing at the top of a similar framework 13' at the middle of the drier as shown inFigures 1 and 2. One end ofthe sliaft-36 isiprovided with aqbevel. gear. 31 meshing 1 ,aoeymo with a bevel pinion 38 on a transverse shaft '39 mounted in bearing brackets 40 at the corresponding end of the drier, the shaft 39 being adapted to be driven in any suitable .manner as by means of a belt applied to a pulley 41 on said shaft 39.

Referring now more especially to Figures 5 and 6, the skeleton or spider members 31' the cylinder 9 for the purpose of engaging the material within the drying chamber'l8 and agitating or mixing-the same'aswell as maintaininga circulation thereof about said cylinder 9. Certain of these flights 45' are .of plate form attached by suitable fastenings 45"to the angle members 42, the free portions of said flights 45 extending inwardly and being bent backwardly with reference to thedirection of rotation of the rotary member (as indicatedby the arrows in Figure 6), so that the inner edges of the flights. 45 barely touch'the surface of the cylinder 9. The rest of the flights, 46,'have their attached portions-of the same form as the flights 45 and their free projecting portions extending in the same manner and at the same angle as the fiights 45, but the free projecting portio'ns of these flights 46 comprise-a finger structure, as best illustrated in Figure 5 for the purpose of more effectively and thoroughly mixing and stirring up the material and preventing the formation of any cakes orllumps therein. Preferably the flights 46 are provided with a plurality of .finge'rs 47 made-insections having slots 48 and bolts 49,;whereby the length of these fingers-maybe appropriately adjusted for taking up the wear thereon as often as :neces-- sary. The series of the fl ghts 45 and fl1ghts 46 are also arranged 1n successively staggered and in partiallyoverlapping relation with reference to the'length of the drier. By referenceto-Figure 8 it willalso be seen that the fiights46 alternate with the flights 45; the two form of said flights being, therefore, substantiallyequal in number. I

In one side of thedrier, preferably on the side opposite fromthe hood 28, I provide a openings are sealed by means of removable plates 50, thereby affording access to the interior of the dryingchamber 18 whenever necessary for making inspection: or repairs. .I-twill accordingly be apparent that I have providedian efficient and comparatively simple arrangement and construction for carrying out the proposedv obj ect of the in-.

I20 pair of openings in the face of the rectangula'r portion 119 of the exterior housing, which constant movement and circulation of the material in the chamber '18, the action of the fingers 47 serving to break up any cakes or lumps starting to form in the material,

and the combined action of the flights 45 and 46 being to subject the material to an even and uniform treatment wherein it is not allowed toremain in contact with the cylinder ,9 long enough to be burnt or scorched. This operation of the drier'construction is made possible by the provision of a fixed interiorheating chamber surrounded by an exterior drying chamber, and

the heat being suppliedto the interior chambernby means .of a fixed pair of supply connections 14. and 15 while the only'moving parts are those comprising the rotary member carryingthe flights and operating about the fixed axis of the tubular members 11 which support the cylinder 9. Fromthis it is apparent that'both the main and the auxiliary steam pipes comprise fixed and permanent parts haVinginO movable joints whatsoever, such as are apt to give trouble by leaking or otherwise getting out of order. The provision of an auxiliary heating means affords a further important advantage by enabling the heating action to be properly regulated according to conditions, and it being also apparent that the main heating chamber within the cylinder 9 or the auxiliary heating system afforded by the pipes 23 and 2 3 may be operated together or separately and independently, as desired. It is also to be noted that the main heating chamher as well as the auxiliary pipe connections are so arranged as to siphon off all condensation collecting therein, and that there is no dead end to the drier. A more efficient drying action is also obtained by virtue of the drying chamber being provided with a passage communicating with the vapor hood throughout the entire length of the drying chamber. A part of the efliciency is also due to the operation of the finger structure of the flights 46, whereby the material is prevented from caking and is therefore presented evenly and thoroughly to the drying action of the heat. The arrangement of the drive mechanism is very simple and effective, and the application of the drive to both ends of the drier distributes equally the power required for its operation.

While I have illustrated and described what I'now'regard as constituting the preferred form of construction for embodying the improvement, I desire to reserve the right tolnake such changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

hat I claim is:

1.v A drier construction comprising an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber, and a rotary member within said drying chamber provided with a plurality of flights arranged in staggered relation and operating to alternately deposit the Jnaterial being treated upon the upper surface of said heating chamber and thereafter remove said material therefrom.

2. A drier construction comprising alixed cylinder forming an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a. drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber and a rotary member operating about the axis of said cylinder and provided -with a plurality of flights arranged in staggered relation and operating to alternately deposit the material being treated upon'the upper surface of said heating chamber and thereafter remove said material therefrom.

A drier construction comprising a fixed cylinder forming an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a drying chambersurrounding said heating chamber,

means for-admitting steam axially within .one end of said cylinderand a siphon outlet connection leading axially from the opposite end of said cylinder, and a rotary member operating about the axis of said cylinder and provided with a plurality of flights'arranged in staggered relation and operating to alternately deposit the material being treated upon the upper surface of said heating chamber and thereafter remove said material therefrom.

4. A drier construction comprising an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber, and a rotary member within said drying chamber provided with a plurality of flights arranged in staggered relation and operating to alternately deposit thematerial being treated upon the upper surface of said heating chamber and thereafter remove said material therefrom, certain of said flights comprising a finger structure adapted to break any cakes or lumps forming in said drying chamber.

5. A drier construction comprising an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber, and a rotary member within said drying chamber provided with a plurality of flights arranged in staggered relation and operating to alternately deposit the material being treated upon the upper surface of said heating chamber and theretain of said flights. having inwardly pro-1 'jecting adjustable fingers adapted tobreak upltany cakes orwlumps forming in said- "drying chamber. J o

afterfiremove said material therefrom, cer- 6. A drier construction comprising'an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber, an upwardly converging vapor hood communicating with the upper portion of sa1d drying chamber, and means "operating within said drying chamber to alternately deposit the material being treated upon the upper surface of said. heating chamber and thereafter remove said-material therefrom. a V v 7., A drier vconstruction comprising an interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forminga drying chamber surrounding said heating chamber, means rotating Within said "drying chamber and around said heating ber, an exterior housing forming a drying chamber surrounding said cylinder, arotary member provided With flights for maintaining a circulation of the material being 1 treated around said cylinder, said rotary member having hub sleeves provided with itively;

bearings-in .the ends of said housingi-and fixed supporting membersiproj ecting ax ally through saidsleeves inposition forsupporting theends of'said cylinder.v

v 9.; A drier constructioncomprising a fixed cylinder formingan interior heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a closed drying chamber surrounding said cylinder, 'a rotary member provided with flights for maintaining a circulation of theflmaterial' being treated around said cylinder, said ro-,

tary member havingihub sleeves provided with bearings in "the T ends of: said housing," vand means associated with the outer end of sleeves for rotating said member. V

10. drier construction comprising" a fixed icyllnder forming aninterlor heating chamber, an exterior housing forming a closed drying chan1bersurrounding said cylinder, a' rotary member provided Wlth: 1 55 flights for maintaining a circulation of i the material being treatedaround said cylinder,

said rotary :member having hub sleeves provided With bearings inthe ends of 'said mounted Within'said supporting members at the opposite endsof' said cylinder, respec- .In Witness whereof Iafiix'my signature.

WI'LLIAMNV; LEWIS;

housing,-.tubular supporting members'pr'o- 'jecting axiallythrough said sleeves in position for supporting said ends of said cylinder, and steam inlet and :outletf connections 

